Twins of Peace Book Two and a Half: Time Hopping
by Mary Jane Parker
Summary: Continuation of Corruption: After jumping through a portal created by some weird form of Time-Turner Piper wakes up to find the Spike of old watching over her. She has no idea where the other Scoobies are. **Chapter Five is Up!! **
1. Default Chapter

E-mail: Cajun_chick411@yahoo.com or Cajun_chick411@netscape.com or Spikesluv666@netscape.net 

Title: Twins of Peace Book Three: Time Hopping (working title)

Spoilers: all four HP books, Buffy up to the end of season six, and my two fanfics Twins of Peace books one and two

Category: General, Supernatural, and Action/Adventure

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer:

_They belong to Whedon and Rowling,_

_It's shocking but it's true;_

_All I do is borrow them_

_And hope that they won't sue!_

And on another note the dialogue between William and Dru towards the end is not mine. It came from the BtVS episode Fool For Love in season five (one of the best Buffy episodes in my opinion, t'was then that I truly loved Spike).

Authors Note: So you're not completely confused I'd suggest reading Twins of Peace books one and two. Unless I get really inspired while writing this, this will be the last book because I really intended to make this a trilogy anyway. If anyone insists I might throw in a little one shot when it's through. Erm, I think that's it except please if you read it, review it! I'm a review slut and damned proud of it!

Summary: After jumping through a portal created by some weird form of Time-Turner Piper wakes up to find the Spike of old (as in William) watching over her (though it's still in different POV's). She has no idea where the other Scoobies are, or if the friends and family she left back in London are ok. Peter Pettigrew is also on the loose messing up time as he goes along, starting with one night fateful night in 1880…

Chapter One: Piper- William the Bloody or Fool For Love Revisited

_Dear Remus,_

_                 With what's been going on we haven't been able to talk like we should. The children and Sirius are missing along with Buffy, Spike, Xander, and Angel; I know this, but I feel that it's been dominating our entire lives and it's only been a week. Somehow I just know they're fine and they will come back to us, so we must stop thinking about that for at least a moment and talk about what's going on between us._

_You know what happened to me when I went to Hogwarts and why I rejected you. I couldn't be with you after Lieselotte died and you have to understand that. You're a werewolf, and that's what killed her. I thought I'd never get over it. I did though, and after Lily and James' wedding…I remember the way you came up to me and asked me to dance! You were so shy. I wanted to dive headlong into a relationship, but with Voldemort growing stronger by the day we couldn't. I had my healing and you had your Watchers Council. Then ironically when we thought we were ready Pettigrew spoiled it and I ran. _

_I want to allow myself to love you now. Death Eaters, Voldemort, Pettigrew, they mean nothing. We let them stop us once and I don't plan for that to happen again. I hope the feelings you used to harbor haven't faded, but if they have I understand. It's been fourteen years. To this letter you don't have to respond. I'll know by the way you look and act. I just hope you understand that I still love you._

_                           Hopeful,_

_                                     Leandra Black_

_Lucius,_

_       I am displeased with the spectacle presented in Diagon Alley. You have lost the trust of much of the ministry and Peter Pettigrew has been seen by the public. Already I have seen reports in the Daily Prophet proclaiming Sirius Black innocent of at least one murder; there is speculation on whether he committed any crime at all. If he is released Harry Potter will have a home safer than he is with the Dursley's or the Winthrop's. Punishment for this would have to be grave. _

_There is also another matter that disturbs me. Is it not true that your son Draco ran into the Time-Turner Portal after Piper Black as if trying to save her? I hope, for your sake and his that his loyalties have not wavered. When we injected him with vampiric blood it was not so he could help that idiot Dumbledore. It was for him to help us. Make sure you make this clear for him if Dumbledore's side ever manages to get that portal back open. I truly believe that all inside have perished. Dumbledore will never find a way to open it._

_It upsets me that the Winthrop's seem so connected to Dumbledore and Sirius Black. There is something about the woman that bothers me…but that's not important. I shall figure that out in my own time. The man seems normal enough as do the daughter and the two babies. I would still like more information concerning them though._

_I am letting you off easily this time, but any more mistakes will result in Crucio._

_                   -Voldemort_

_Dear Willow,_

_            In answer to your private query earlier today I will explain to you what Freya's Strand is. I'll admit I was amazed to hear that Adhara had it. It had last been seen during World War Two when Spike and Drusilla were looking for it. The strand is a golden chain that looks like nothing special except for the gold is woven so closely together it looks like a solid gold rope. Despite it's appearance I've been told it hangs lightly in the hands. _

_When one wears it you are able to shift your form to what ever creature you want. I suppose this is why Adhara gave it to Spike. It could've proved useful in the crowds last week, it is probably being even more useful wherever the portal took them. The chain is also rumored to give vampires their reflection, another reason Drusilla wanted it all those years ago._

_The time turner Adhara gave Adrian was special only because of the protection it gives when traveling through time. It also creates very powerful vortexes when smashed as demonstrated in Diagon Alley. When entered you are thrown to a point of time important to your survival, or life. Because of this clause we at least know that our friends are relatively safe wherever they are._

_Adhara and I are working on recreating the portal to pull them out as quickly as possible. We must not forget that Peter Pettigrew also managed to jump in. I fear to think of what he might decide to do to time. But Willow you must rest easy, our friends are resourceful and will fins ways to survive. Meanwhile continue to distract yourself with your classes and the twins. Another time spender would be to make sure that Remus Lupin and Leandra Black develop a relationship. I would, but I'm afraid I am becoming too old to play matchmaker anymore._

_                      Sincerely,_

_                                 Albus Dumbledore_

*~*

"What's America like Miss?"

I sighed internally at the question, while racking my brain trying to remember anything from my grade school history lessons. What was America doing in 1880? Had the Civil War ended yet? I decided it had as something about the 14th amendment flashed through my head. Why had I never paid attention in history? It was Remus' fault of course. We'd covered the 19th century the last year I'd been in New Jersey when I'd had Remus for history. He'd been the bane of my life back then, always watching over me. At least now I knew why. I shook my head slightly. Letting my mind wander wasn't a good thing. I had to remember what was going on, not that anything came to mind.

"It's much different than here." I said lamely. "It seems busier."

Beth's face became excited. "Did you live in a city? I heard in your city Chicago they've built a building with sixteen floors! I would never go in there."

'That's nothing' I thought of the Empire State Building and the Sears Towers. I sucked in a breath as she pulled the stays of the corset tighter. "I live in New York City, by Central Park." Shit, had that even been built?

"Oh you live in the Dakota, you must be very wealthy!" She gushed. Oh well, at least I hadn't been wrong. And now I remembered that Central Park had been built by someone Olmstead. This was improvement. 

"Yes I was supposed to be visiting my aunt, but she never arrived at the port, so Adrian and I attempted to find her home ourselves. We weren't very successful." I told the story perfectly without any stuttering over the lies. Adrian was in the next room over. We had both been found lying on the ground in an alley about a black away from the Winthrop House. We'd been wearing clothes that signified we were well off, as did the luggage in the suitcases lying next to us. The day I awoke Mrs. Winthrop allowed me to see Adrian, and he told me the story he'd made up. I stuck to it faithfully. According to Beth, William had found us and bought us here to be treated three days ago.

I was still completely freaked about what was happening. If you woke up over a hundred year in the past you'd be freaked too. There were so many variables in this whole thing that I was worried about. Mostly I thought about everything that I said in did. I was trying to be careful when answering questions. I was afraid I'd accidentally start talking about airplanes, Amtrak, and TV. I'd watched way too much Star Trek as a kid and Captain Picard had drilled the consequences telling the future or trying to change that past into my head. Bad things always happened, even when your intentions were well meant. The Pettigrew element worried me too. He was out in time somewhere probably fixing it so that the south won the Civil War; Napoleon took over the world, or something equally as bad. Then we'd get back to our time and find out that we hadn't even been born.

Beth slipped a dress over my head that definitely wouldn't have fit if not for the corset. I would've rather been able to breath than to fit into a dress two sizes to small. As she tied the small bows in the back she continued talking. "Mr. William is supposed to take you 'round to where he works today, at the library. He has to do some filling before he goes to the gathering tonight."

"Oh, what's tonight?" I asked.

"Miss. Cicely's family is having a small party. Mr. William quite fancies her; he aims to marry her, but he won't get anywhere with what he's writing her." She said in a gossipy tone.

"Oh, William's a poet?" I knew damn well he was a poet, but I wanted to know if tonight was the night, so I had to keep her talking.

Beth smiled. "Yes, that he is. He's a treat to look at, but as poet…well many call him William The Bloody Awful Poet. Not to his face of course, but it follows him around like a fire."

I grimaced, feeling bad for him. "This Cicely, does she return his love?"

"That's what's so horrible about it, she doesn't. I suspect she would if he stopped writing, but if she sends him away tonight it will be the second time he's been rejected by her." Now I knew. It was the night. 

Tonight William would run out and meet Drusilla. I could save him. I could go to the alley and stealthily sneak up on Dru and stake her. Better yet, I could delay William from making it to Cicely's on time. But as I thought about all of this I thought of the things I'd be affecting as well. With out William becoming Spike Buffy would've never been able to get rid of Angelus, many of us would be dead a few time over, the twins wouldn't have been born, and I'd miss him when if I ever reached home and everything was different. I couldn't imagine my world without Spike and the Scoobies. Hell, even Angel was starting to grow on me.

"William's very nice to me." I said, remembering the two times we'd talked. "He's shy though."

"Yes," Beth agreed. "But he's always nice, Miss. Harriet isn't all the time. Miss. Gillian's lovely though. Those are his sisters." The grandfather clock down stairs started to chime. When it'd finished it had rang eleven times. Beth's mouth formed an O when she heard the time. "Come, Mr. William is waiting for you and your brother. I'll escort you down."

We went down into the ornate parlor of the house. William and Adrian were there, but I was pained when I looked at William. He was so much different from Spike, I'll bet William couldn't have even stood the sight of blood. I wanted him to wear a black leather duster and have white blond hair. He needed to smoke and curse. But William would never do that, he was to refined, a gentlemen; nice all the time and would never curse in a ladies presence. 

"Miss. Rayner." William said, politely inclining his head. Rayner was the name we'd lived with for fourteen years in New Jersey. Adrian had given it to Mrs. Winthrop as our real last name. "Are you well enough to venture out today?"

"Yes thank you." I answered honestly. I did fell surprisingly well. Something vampiric had probably aided a speedy recovery for both Adrian and I. Of course I wasn't aware of how badly we'd been hurt in the first place but that seemed unimportant. 

William opened the door to the townhouse and I fell in step with Adrian as we walked the London cobble stoned streets. I had a lot to say to him, to ask him, but I couldn't then. We looked each other straight in the eyes though, communicating silently. We'd talk as soon as we found a private niche somewhere. I wondered if he'd discovered what I had about this evening and what was to take place.

I looked around for landmarks, trying to discover where I was without asking. Seeing something like The Leaky Caldron would've been a dead giveaway but there were no such clues. Instead everything was completely unfamiliar and the only thing I was defiantly sure of was that I was somewhere in the city of London. 

We weren't given any extra attention as we walked though the streets. There were many like us. Then there were the people that seemed to be important who rode around in coaches, and of course the peasants. I assumed the Winthrop's were part of the middleclass. Not nobility, but not needing to get their hands dirty with hard labor either. I paid attention only because I was looking for recognizable faces. Faces of my friends and family who'd jumped through before and after me. It was wishful thinking to believe that we'd all ended up here. But with my luck Pettigrew was lurking around somewhere.

"Please, in here." We'd stopped in front of a plain looking, white washed door surrounded with green trim. William pushed the door open was awkwardly pushing up his glasses at the same time. I almost let out a girlish giggle. Awkward and Spike didn't normally connect. If he ever were awkward he'd usually try to cover it with some sort of manly act of machoism or a sarcastic remark. William just stumbled through the door and ushered us down a dank corridor. I shivered a bit, surprising for all the layers of clothes and underclothes I wore.

William pulled open another door that led into a well lit room lined wall to wall with shelves filled with books. It reminded me very much of Hayden's old shop across from Apropos, I decided when I coughed slightly on the dust sweeping the room. The room was large and few people mingled, walking in and out of the shelves. To my despair I saw no one I knew.

"I fear I won't be much company today, but feel free to use any of the books here." William told us, moving to a solitary desk at the side of the room. " 'Tis almost time for midday break anyhow." 

Adrian and I nodded to each other after William had retreated to his desk. I walked in one direction and he took the other. We'd soon meet up, but wouldn't look suspicious like we were plotting something. So I walked slowly through the many aisles of books. At times curiosity got the better of me and I pulled one or two down. Especially when I saw what I had to assume were first edition Dickens novels, and a leather bound copy of Little Women that I almost felt compelled to steal.

"You like fine works of literature?" As I slid the Alcott book back onto the shelf a smooth Irish lilted voice spoke from behind me. I congratulated myself on not becoming too startled as I turned to face the person behind me. Truthfully I had wanted to make as little contact with anyone as possible, but it was obvious that it could not be avoided.

"I do like Little Women…" I trailed off as I looked up to the man who'd spoken. "You, how…"

The man scowled as I stuttered the half question. "I do not believe we've been introduced Miss,"

"Rayner." I filled in reluctantly. I could hear Adrian's heart beat not that far away. Maybe a stack over. That was good. Adrian would help if he tried to hurt me. "And you?"

"Liam, that's all." I gulped deeply as he spoke, completely confirming my suspicions. Angel stood before me, well Angelus at least. He was unsouled, and very dangerous with a penchant for torture. I wanted to know how he'd gotten to the shop. It was broad daylight out. Had Peter screwed up time already? I doubted it, but I kept the possibility in thought.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you Liam, but my brother is around here somewhere, so if you'll excuse me." I backed slowly away, forgetting the books I'd previously held in reverence.

He grabbed my right arm, pulling me back towards him. I didn't struggle, because I didn't want to break anything. I didn't trust 19th century medicine all that much, even with my advanced healing. "You're like us, no don't shake your head, I can feel it. Tell me, what are you doing here among the high class?"

"I could ask you the same thing, and I don't know what on earth you're talking about." I lied. "Please let me go."  

"Why deny it my little Lamia." Liam asked. "When were you changed?"

"Was I like you, I'd have shifted and staked you already." I said haughtily, dropping my pretense. "I'm merciful though, so I won't. You're too important Angelus." With that I jerked my arm out of his grip. He let me go, and I was smart enough to realize that fact. If he'd wanted to keep me I wouldn't have had a chance of getting away. I smoothed the sleeves of my dress and gave him a cool glance. "It's been a pleasure."

"Yes it has lass. And make no mistake that I will be seeing you again. Maybe tonight at The Lady Cicely's."

Angel and Spike, they were part of the garrison that would protect each of us kids to the death. I loved them for it, but their past selves had been so…well words wouldn't describe it for me. But the Angel I talked to now was anything but the broody, yet compassionate man I knew. This Angel would more likely make me into some sort of sex slave. Yet even now he was years older than me, and could best me at anything. I felt it best not to anger him too much so my response was only, "Perhaps."   

*~*

"Piper, how can you watch this? It's downright awful."

"It's better than being out there with that womanizer you call your boss." I said with a shiver. "Besides it's not like we can hear anything, all we can see is the look of revulsion on her face. At least now we know why he was called William the Bloody."

"Yeah, well I could've done without knowing. And you do realize that the man out there is Angelus and not Angel. There's a difference, as Angel will tell you in a heartbeat." Adrian replied grumpily. "Oh god, look at him, Piper can we leave now, my respect for Spike is slowly plummeting. He's getting up anyway."

I nodded. "We should follow him. Dru has to find him, and we've gotta make sure Pettigrew doesn't."

"I know that we have to hand him over to Dru, but there's just something so wrong about it." His fingers slowly traced his neck where Dru had bitten him. 

"If you like being alive we have to. If William doesn't disappear tonight then Harriet won't run off and marry and have kids, those kids won't have kids, and those kids won't have kids, and those kids won't have dad, and dad and mom won't have us."

"I know, I know," My brother said sighing. "But you don't feel in the least bit guilty?"

I waited before answering as we slowly came out of the corner we'd been spying from, and emerged back into the parlor of the house where twenty or so people mingled. Among them was Angelus, who winked luridly at me. When my eyes widened in slight fear he just smiled and turned back to the maid he was currently engaging. I clutched Adrian's arm and propelled us towards the front door.

"Of course I feel guilty! I have a conscience you know." I huffed as we stepped out into the night. "But think of Buffy and the twins, and oh, there's so much other stuff that depends on tonight. Over there! You go, I'll catch up." I pointed suddenly. I saw William walking quickly away from us. Adrian ran ahead, staying in the shadows. I was a little ways behind, my clothes were confining and certainly not made for running.

William stopped and turned into an alley. He vanished from our view but the ripped up pieces of white paper he'd left dashed on the street behind him left a trial. I knelt to examine one. The words were smudged dreadfully and I couldn't read it at all, but I could only assume it was the poem that William had labored on during the beginning of the party. I held the paper in my hand tightly and continued on as fast as the dress would let me.

I heard a thud and turned to the right. It was an alley right across from the one William turned into. In fact, when I went in farther I found it was possible to see William through the space where brick, mortar, and wall did not touch. There were sounds of struggle so I peered through the dark behind me. Adrian sat on the ground with Peter Pettigrew in a headlock. I started to call out to him but stopped when I saw a woman step from the shadows and approach William.

"And I wonder…what possible catastrophe came crashing down from heaven and brought this dashing stranger to tears?" Drusilla inquired to William in a soft, seductive voice.

"Nothing. I wish to be alone." He said, still ripping his poem to shreds.

"You don't want to let this happen!" Peter hissed from under Adrian's arm. "He deserves to live life. Don't you think?"

Adrian glared and hugged him tighter. "He has one, back home in our time."

"Oh I see you. A man surrounded by fools who cannot see his strength., his vision, his glory." Dru stopped, touching a finger to his cheek. 

William backed away against the wall. He shook nervously. "That's quite close enough. I've heard tales of London pickpockets. You'll not be getting my purse, I'll tell you."

She gave a slow smile that had me shaking from where I stood. I kept my breathing steady, trying not to alert them of our presence. "Don't need a purse." She pointed to his heart with one finger and his head with another. "Your wealth lies here…and here. In the spirit and…imagination. You walk in worlds others can't begin to imagine." There was sense to that. Spike was still a horrible poet (though he was able to laugh at his results now) but he told wonderful stories to his sons. Dru was right in saying what she had.

"Oh yes! I mean, no. I mean…mother's expecting me." He stammered. Behind me Adrian gave a small snort of laughter, barely detectable.

Dru grabbed his shirt harshly, but then gently opened the collar. "I see what you want. Something glowing and glistening. Something…effulgent." 

"Effulgent." William gave the tiniest smile.

"Do you want it?" Dru asked, coyly looking up at him from lowered lashes.

"Oh, yes! God yes."

Drusilla looked down for a moment as her face changed and fangs appeared. William gasped, not afraid really, but more intrigued. I bit my lip until it bled, keeping myself hidden. Had I not been in control I would've run out and pushed her away, and told William that this wasn't what he wanted or needed. What he needed was to stop trying to write poetry for Cicely and court her for real. He needed the last hour over again. That was all. He didn't need to become Spike.

Dru pulled back his shirt collar and buried her fangs into his neck. William cried out in pain, but slowly they turned into moans of pleasure that sent a blush slowly creeping up my neck. It was bad enough seeing him and Buffy making out and necking all over the house, this was something I really didn't need to be hearing. But as the moans died down and Dru raised her wrist to his mouth I knew that we'd succeeded and William was on the path to becoming Spike.

Finally I turned back to look at Adrian. There stood a swirling, misty, blue portal. Adrian and the rat were gone. In mere seconds, so was I.

*~*

_Dear Hayden, and Leandra,_

_                                     'Tis good news that bids me to write these letters, one to every member of the Hogwarts Staff. Lucius Malfoy and Ian McNair have been removed from their respective positions at the ministry. For once I applaud Cornelius's judgment in Ministry affairs. The Unspeakables declared that there had been a hysteria spell used on the 13th and that it came from McNair's wand. When questioned he revealed Malfoy as the master of the whole operation. _

_                When half the crowd in Diagon Alley claimed to see Peter Pettigrew the ministry could ignore it, especially when many of it's members saw him too. The case has been reopened! When we manage to retrieve everyone from the portal there will be a retrial, and I suspect that this time the odds will weigh heavily on our side._

_                             Yours,_

_                                     Albus Dumbledore_

_Dear Mr. And Mrs. Winthrop,_

_                                    We scheduled a student/teacher conference for two days ago for Dawn and her teachers and Dawn declined to arrive, though she was in school that day. Please write or phone the school with in the next few days so we can discuss Dawn's discipline issues._

_                                                                   -Miss. Stamp  _

_Dear Miss Stamp.,_

_                          I'm sorry but Dawn's older sister and her husband are away on vacation for the next two weeks. They've traveled back to the states to set some of their affairs in order. They've left myself, Anya Johnson, and Cordelia Chase in charge of Dawn and her nephews. If you'd like to speak with one of us feel free to write back with a time and place, preferably a Wednesday or a weekend._

_                        Thank you,_

_                                     Willow Rosenberg_


	2. Chapter Two

E-mail: Cajun_chick411@yahoo.com or Cajun_chick411@netscape.com or Spikesluv666@netscape.net 

Title: Twins of Peace Book Three: Time Hopping (working title)

Spoilers: all four HP books, Buffy up to the end of season six, and my two fanfics Twins of Peace books one and two

Category: General, Supernatural, Action/Adventure, and Romance

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer:

If I owned Buffy and Angel Buffy and Spike would be happily married with three kids, and Cordy would be pregnant with Angel's love child. And if I owned Harry Potter Sirius and Remus would be my devoted sex slaves. Unfortunately none of this has happened so obviously I don't own HP, BtVS, or AtS. I do however own Piper, Adrian, Candra, Leandra Wren, and a whole lotto other stuff. If you want to borrow, ask don't steal, 'cause stealing is evil and I'll have to set my dog Padfoot on you (see, that just proves I have no life, I named my dog Padfoot).  

Summary- Chapter Two: Are Hermione and Adrian ready for parenthood? D'know? Find out here!__

Authors Note: Hi! I'm back for Chapter two. I hope you like it! Please read and review 'cause like I mentioned before I'm a review slut!

Chapter Two: Adrian

Back in the alley in 1880 the portal had appeared just as Drusilla started to turn William. Pettigrew had seen it and dragged us both into it. I tried to yell for Piper but she seemed hypnotized by William and Drusilla. She didn't hear me and when she did turn around it was too late. I was floating around in the blue mists of the portal with Pettigrew just a few feet ahead of me. 

We were there for what felt like hours, and I had a lot of time to think. I came to the conclusion the portal appeared for a reason. Most likely it had something to do with Pettigrew. Maybe it was because I'd stopped him from changing anything, so now the portal was carting me off somewhere else to stop him from changing anything else. I hoped it was taking us home. As much as I'd enjoyed watching Spike being totally humiliated (not) we needed to get home and hand Pettigrew over to someone who'd keep him locked away until Malfoy was removed from the ministry.

Contemplation was stopped as I felt myself falling slowly through the blue mist. I grabbed for Pettigrew, but he just kept floating ahead of me. I soon stopped and resigned to falling through the portal. It took forever to travel through the fog and mist but when I came out I dropped lightly onto a four-poster bed, the curtains drawn tightly around it. My clothes changed and suddenly I was in nothing but a pair of black boxers.

I'd barely looked around when I was hugged around the waist by a pair of long, slender arms. I looked to my left and saw an older looking Hermione. As my mouth dropped she only gripped me tighter. "Adrian!" She finally gasped.

"'Mione?" I asked slowly. "My Hermione, from…?"

"Yes, yes! Adrian I was just in 1970 New York!" She exclaimed, detaching her death grip of my waist. We both looked at each other, the confusion evident on our faces. "You look, older." Hermione observed.

"So do you, in good way though." I ran my fingers through her still bushy hair. "Do you know what's going on here?"

She shook her head. "No! I went through that thing after the rest of you. I was worried, and then all of the sudden I'm in a tube station. It was disgusting! There were signs all around indicating that it was New York City, and I was so confused. A woman next to me claimed that we had to catch the next train to work. She seemed to know me, so I went with her when it stopped. But then the door opened and I saw Spike." Here she paused and gave a small laugh. "He looked like some sort of drunk rocker, or he would've but he was in game face. All the passengers saw him and ran away. I boarded because I thought it might be our Spike. "

"Spike's third slayer." I said simply. 

"Right!" Hermione said. "The one he got his duster from. I saw the fight, he didn't see me though, and I hid in the next car over and watched through the window."

"Did you see anyone we'd know?"

"Besides Spike no. Where were you?" She asked.

"With Piper watching Spike get shut down by the supposed love of his life then being turned by Drusilla. Pettigrew tried to stop it, but I stopped him. When I started to drop here from the portal I lost him. Piper didn't come through with us." I explained. "The question now is, where are we?"

Hermione slowly sat up and swung her legs out from under the thin sheets acting as if the floor were dangerous. When she seemed satisfied she drew back the bed curtains. "Oh God!" She mumbled, putting a hand to her mouth.

The room we were in was richly furnished with pieces of furniture that looked antique. That I could've dealt with, what made my eyes widen was the view of the ocean we had. Wherever we were was above a high cliff of rocks that the waves bounced on and off of. The sky was pure blue and morning sunlight poured through the huge windows.

"Mummy! Daddy!" 

Hermione stopped cold in the middle of the floor and gaped at me. "Do something!" she mouthed as a small girl of about four or five came running into the room and hugged her knees. Hermione hugged the girl tentatively as I just stared. The girl was skinny with sleek black hair and a rosy complexion…almost like a mix of Hermione and I. Kids…we had kids, or at least a kid. Well wasn't this a nice turn of events, besides my being completely freaked out. 

The girl made a face as if she was trying to remember something; finally she smiled and said, "Gwen says that she's getting a ride to the mall." Then she smiled and ran out as fast as she'd come in.

"All I can say," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow. "Is that this had better not be in the _near _future, as in not before we're out of school future."

I laughed. "Actually we look kinda young. Older than sixteen but nowhere over thirty-five."

"Old enough to have started a business," Hermione picked up a small card off of her nightstand. "Black and Black, a sub division of Angel Investigations. You work out of the Hyperion."

"So we've gotta be a California." I said thinking. At least we had an idea of where we could be. I sat up cross legged on the bed and looked over at the small table on my side of the bed. There was one framed picture on mine along with a sharpened wooden stake, a pile of papers, and my wand. Before grabbing my wand I picked up framed picture. It was huge with at least thirty people grinning and waving. The adults were rather calm, their arms draped over shoulders, while the kids ran around in front of the camera tackling each other to the grassy ground and smiling from there. I was able to pick out all of the Scoobies, and the A.I team though they looked older. Then I saw myself at what must've been in my late twenties. I was hugging Hermione. Next to us Candra and Oz were making out as usual and Harry and Dawn held hands smiling and waving. Piper was draped over an older Draco sticking her tongue out at the camera, and Ron stood with his arm around a girl with white blond hair who I didn't recognize. I'd have said it was Fleur Delacour but I knew it wasn't. I blinked twice when I saw my Aunt Leandra in Remus' arms with Dad in the background giving them bunny ears and the like. They'd gotten together?

"Oh wow!" Hermione gasped, looking at the active picture. "Look at the kids. They're ours! Look, that one belongs to Spike, it's William I think. And the girl crawling around Harry's legs, she looks like Remus. And that one looks like Angel…this is our future!"

I carefully opened the frame and slipped the pictute around. When I turned it around I found what I was looking for. "July 15th 2017, Central Park, New York City. Hey, at least we know we survived Hogwarts."

"Adrian that's not funny! Oh, I think he belongs to Fred!" She pointed to another scampering toddler.

"He looks three, how can you tell?"

Hermione gave me a withering look. "I just can. It's a…woman thing."

"So, what do we do now?" I asked, baring back down to reality. "The portal's not going to come back until we do what we have to do, or at least that's what I think. I wonder if anyone else is here, I would kill for an adult."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that." She said with a smile. "Maybe that's some-"

A loud yell from below stopped Hermione in the middle of her diatribe. "Daddy! Uncle Xander and Uncle William and Aunt Buffy are here."

"Maybe my prayers are about to answered." I jumped out of the bed quickly and searched the room for the dresser. Hermione found it first and we each threw on jeans and tee-shirts with in five minutes.

"Which way?" Hermione asked once we stepped into the hall. The hall went on in both directions from the door to our room and there were stairs at both ends.

"Right's as good as left." I said with a shrug and took her hand. We went to the right staircase and hurried down it. The case ended in a large foyer decorated with pieces of art that had obviously been chosen by Hermione. I had no talent in that sort of thing. 

Spike, Buffy, and Xander stood by the large front door. They way they looked around curiously told me that they were from our time and not here. Xander let out a low whistle when we came skidding to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.

"You two struck it rich." Xander said, and then raised an eye brow. "You are 'our' Adrian and Hermione right? Hey, you look older!"

Hermione giggled. "So do you. Where did you three end up? Just here?" 

"Subway, 1970." He said. 

"You too?" I asked confused. "Did you see Hermione?"

Xander shook his head and shrugged. "Nah, I was too busy trying not to get bashed with that pole Spike was going all kung-fu-ish with. Then I saw rat-face, managed to knock a crossbow out of his hands, and then jumped into another portal."

"How was Peter in two places at once? I saw him when…"Buffy stopped and leaned into Spike seeking comfort. "Well, I saw him, and stopped him. He had a crossbow there too."

"I stopped him from trying to stop Spike from getting turned." I said trying to remember everything. "Anyone notice this is kind of Spike-centric?"

All eyes swung to the blond vampire. He held up his hands in peace. "I didn't do anything to that bleedin' rat. That was my nephew, not me."

"And where'd you end up?" Hermione said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"When I was making a fool of myself singing and prancing around that graveyard like a bloody poof. Pettigrew tried to shoot me while I was standing on top of a coffin." Spike said with a scowl. "There're a few moments in my life I never want to relive, that was one of them."

"Oh you mean, 'let me rest in peace, let me get some sleep, let me take my love-" Buffy left off with a laugh as Spike growled deep in his throat.

"So, yet again it's Spike's fault." Xander concluded. "So, resident witch and wizard, how do we get back home?"

I snorted. "Got me."

"The pattern thus far has been Pettigrew tries something, we stop him, and then the vortex appears. So the question is, what can Pettigrew try here, but since it's the future we're really out of the loop." Hermione said logically.

"She's always so pessimistic in these situations." Spike muttered.

"Was that girl your daughter?" Buffy asked suddenly as if just realizing something. "She looked like the two of you."

"Yeah, you should see the picture upstairs, we all have kids, and they all look like us. William turns out to look just like Spike, except for the hair. There's so many of them." I said. "If we're gonna be here awhile we should probably learn their names."

Buffy nodded quickly looking strangely like Anya for a second. "Right the kids! We saw William and Damon this morning, and this eight-year-old girl who said her name was Caitlin Joyce. We have kids, and Pettigrew would love to go after them. I mean they're our kids, they have to be, err, special…somehow. _We're_ their parents."

"I wonder what the date is." Hermione mused.

"July 14th 2017." Spike said. "I saw it on a newspaper at our house before we left to try and find someone."

"July 14th…it can't be. The picture I saw upstairs was taken on the 15th this year in July." I told them, earning curious looks.

"Officially confused here." Xander said. "How could a picture come from the future?"

"How could we come from the past? Some people would ask that." Hermione countered seriously. "That woman, Adhara, she brought the picture here, I know it. It was her time turner that got us here. Pictures can't just float though time by themselves."

Spike fingered the golden chain that sat at his throat. "She said as long as we had the strand we'd be safe forever."

"Crazy much? She is, that's for sure." Buffy threw her arms up in the air. "She's the type that would've sent us here on purpose, in fact I'll bet she did. She knew that time turner thing was messed up and gave it to Adrian because she knew this would happen."

"Well if she can see into the future maybe she knew this would turn out to be a good thing. Maybe we're here because we're supposed to catch Pettigrew." I suggested.

"Then where're Piper, Sirius, Remus, Harry, Draco, and the rest of 'em. They could've joined the fun." Spike grumped, still touching the chain. 

"They could be here." Hermione said. "Just not _here_. How did you get here anyway?"

"There's this quarter page ad in the LA Time for Angel Investigations and Black and Black. We guessed that had to be you and Piper so we came to address." Buffy explained. "Xander met us at the door. He landed here, in the gravel on the driveway. But that's not really important, I want to know how that picture got here."

Xander rose his eyebrows at us "I thought you guys had gotten that already! Listen. If Adhara did send it, then it has to be a clue. Rat-face is gonna try something tomorrow in Central Park. I'd say 'duh', but I don't want to get punched. Who knows whether that chip is still working." In response Spike reached over and socked Xander hard in the arm. Immediately he pulled back and clutched his head in his hands. Xander looked rather smug as he rubbed the black and blue forming under his skin. "I always say that you should receive satisfaction from the little things in life."

Hermione gave him a tiny grin before turning to Spike. "You'll be ok right?"

"Fine," he muttered, shaking his head and leaning on Buffy. "Listen mite, will you go get that picture from your room? I'll kill the whelp while you're gone and then we can figure out how to get outa here." 

*~*

Our second youngest child Chloe was five, and because she was five it was easy for Hermione to sit her down and a game of pretend school. She handed Chloe and second huge group picture Xander had found in the study of the house and started playing name the people. An enchanted quill wrote everything down. Hermione pocketed it when she was done and came into the front parlor where the rest of us were sitting, writing out notes of sheets of paper. I was poking Freya's Strand with my wand using spells to try and figure out everything about it that I could. 

We all stopped when Hermione walked in with the paper in one hand and a sleeping boy nestled in the other. She handed the paper to Buffy and the child to me. She rung her hands and shrugged. "He was crying, and I picked him up then he stopped."

"Who is he?" I shifted him awkwardly in my arms.

"Ryan. He's three, our youngest. The rest is there, God it's long." She pointed to the sheet she'd just given to Buffy.

Buffy's eyes widened as she looked the paper over. "You got a five year old to tell you all this in less than two hours? I'm impressed. Dawn never sat still for more than minute."

"Chloe really likes Oreos." She admitted sheepishly, but she still smiled. "Xander you and Anya marry, and Fred and Gunn get married, and I'm a bit confused here but it seems that Remus marries Sirius's sister, but-"

"Madam Morela." I said. It didn't make any sense to keep it from anybody anymore. If it helped then it needed to be known. Everybody stared at me, but I ignored them and shifted Ryan again. "Keep going."

Hermione puzzled for a moment "Ok…well I've almost memorized it. Adrian and I have three kids, Ryan, Chloe, and Gwen. Gwen's twelve and in Hogwarts. Buffy and Spike have William, Damon, they're fifteen, and Caitlin Joyce, and apparently Spike's a writer…don't look at me like that! I just know what Chloe told me." Hermione almost shouted the last part at Spike when his eyes bugged as she said he was a writer. "Anyway, Buffy you work for Angel, or with him. She wasn't quite clear on that."

"She works for Peaches?" Spike asked sarcastically. "Don' worry luv, I promise that'll be one thing that never happens."

"Spike!" Buffy elbowed him in the gut.

"Willow and Cordelia still work at Hogwarts, but I think I picked up that Willow lives with Buffy and Spike. Cordy and Angel have one son, Connor, Cordy isn't Connor's mum, but Angel's his father. I don't even want to know about that. Um, this is interesting, Oz and Candra own…the Binze, Bonze…what is this?"

Buffy grinned. "The Bronze! That's awesome, are they married?"

"Yes, so are Harry and your sister... No comments Spike" Hermione said. She shut Spike up just as he was about to say something about Harry and Dawn. "Dawn and Harry have one girl, Jade, she's thirteen, and Oz and Candra have a girl and a boy. Serena's ten and Cole's thirteen."

"All you girls got pregnant at the same time!" Xander laughed.

Hermione nodded, brushing aside the comment. "You and Anya have a ten year old girl named Zephyr."

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume Anya picked the name. It sounds Greek." 

"It is, it means west wind." She confirmed.

"I'll assume the five year old didn't tell you that." Spike joked.

"Draco and Piper have three boys," Hermione managed to say holding back her giggles, so as not giving Spike the satisfaction of making her laugh "Lucian, Kyle, and Remy. Ages thirteen, nine, and eight. The oldest is in Hogwarts, and…oh! Um…Buffy do Will and Damon do that?" 

"He's hungry," Buffy said softly. I traced the soft ridges that had appeared on Ryan's face. Millions of thoughs flashed through my head, not all of them good.. He woke up and stretched in my lap, then looked up at me with expectant golden eyes. "Madam Pomfrey said that they shouldn't need blood their whole lives, just until about five."

I stood up with the boy in my arms. "I'll take him. Where's the kitchen, wait stupid question. I'll find it."

"Yeah, c'mon Adrian." Spike got up eyeing my wearily, like I'd done something wrong. I shrugged and waited for him outside of the study. Spike shut the door behind him when he came out. I saw Hermione's curious look before the door closed, she began to chew on her lower lip in worry.  

"Good acting mate. You looked sufficiently surprised." Spike said as we walked through the first floor rooms in search of the kitchen. "You fooled them, 'Mione might've suspected something though… she's a smart bird.".

I turned and looked at Spike. He couldn't know, it wasn't possible. But then he nodded at me and I knew that he did. Damn.

*~*


	3. Chapter Three

E-mail: Cajun_chick411@yahoo.com or Cajun_chick411@netscape.com or Spikesluv666@netscape.net 

Title: Twins of Peace Book Three: Time Hopping (working title)

Spoilers: all four HP books, Buffy up to the end of season six, and my two fanfics Twins of Peace books one and two

Category: General, Supernatural, Action/Adventure, and Romance

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer:

If I owned this stuff do you really think I'd be living here in NJ? Hell no! Los Angeles is calling my name…  

Summary- Chapter Three: I suppose that you want to know what Spike and Adrian were talking about at the end of the last chapter. Now If I was an evil person, we'd be switching over to Piper right now, but I'm going to assume you don't want that…right? ::looks around happily as people shake their heads:: Good then. So here's the conclusion to my cliffy.__

Authors Note: Sorry to make you wait so long for this chapter and the last one. I've just been soooooo tired, and that's really weird 'cause I don't do anything! Oh, also, a big thanx to all of my reviewers. You guys make me feel all special and stuff! I feel fluffy and soft inside, and because of this (and the fact that I have no life and WAY to much free time) there will fourth story, in which we shall become acquainted this generation's kids. I love reading about main characters kids so I figured I might as well do something with all that time when I'm not doing homework (don't worry, It's getting done the day it's assigned in study hall). You'll hear more about it towards the end of this story, all I know for sure now is that elements of Charmed might come into it. See ya! Pleeze r/r! Thanx!

Chapter Three:

When my step faltered slightly, Spike's hand kept me from falling. He grinned as my heartbeat skyrocketed, and felt as if it was on its way out of my chest. "You don't know anything about that."

"Dumbledore did, he told me and Red." His voice dropped, and he tried to reach out to me. I pulled away and headed for another room that turned out to be the kitchen. "That's where the James thing comes from, isn't it?"

"I guess," I said. I tried to ignore him, but I couldn't completely. As I looked through the large fridge for blood old memories jumped out. Memories I thought had been buried a long time ago. I hadn't thought about it in years. But suddenly I remembered the dark, and her voice. "She thought she was helping."

"Right, like my sister thought she was helping when she let the rats out the cellar and into the kitchen." Spike said sarcastically. "Red and I didn't get details though, so what was it? Did she lock you in a closet 'till it disappeared? I know she called you James when your demon came out, that's why you can't stand it now."

I found the blood and a toddler sipper cup. Ryan went into a highchair at the table and I stuck the blood in the microwave. The blond vampire stood watching as I went through everything in a methodical fashion. Everyone had always wondered why I was such a skittish kid. From about three to ten years old it'd been impossible for me to sit still for more than a minute. It was her fault. Completely her fault.

"Which one was it Adrian? Prudence or Constance. It couldn't have been Faithful. She was to young." 

"Pru," I said softly. "And she didn't lock me in a closet, she put me under her bed. And when I was a demon she called me James. She said the human was Adrian and the demon was James. I managed to forget about it after awhile, 'cause I told my self there were no such things as demons and ghosts and stuff, but then…well we obviously found out otherwise."

Spike nodded giving me a strangely sympathetic look. "What about Piper?"

"She never shifted, only me." I said, ignoring Ryan who was having the time of his life spilling half the blood in his cup. His face had shifted back. "It hurt a lot; I wasn't getting blood. You know how that feels, like your veins are going to crack and your throats going to close. But when I was five the blood lust stopped, and I shifted for fun sometimes, to see into the dark closets or outside at night, but whenever Pru caught me she'd hide me again. I stopped around nine, but it took me awhile to get over it."

"Didn't you tell anyone?" He asked.

 I glared and shook my head. "No! And you can't either, not even Piper or Dad. Knowing them they'd go back to New Jersey and start blowing out brains. If anyone comes up to me asking 'if I want to talk', rest assured I'll be coming after you."

"And Hermione? You saw her, all calculatin' like. She'll get it, or she'll drag it outa Wills." 

"Does Buffy know all your secrets?"

Spike grinned. "See, that's the thing about the women we've surrounded ourselves with. They'll do anything to know everything about you. It either comes out during sex, you get knocked around for a few minutes until you tell, or," He looked at the kitchen door which we'd left open. "They eavesdrop shamelessly. C'mon out ducks."

"I do not eavesdrop shamelessly _William_, I just care about Adrian. I knew something was wrong, I just knew it! And Buffy said I should follow." Hermione said haughtily as she stepped from behind the wooden paneling. "And you two left Ryan alone, with blood! He…never mind. I'm sorry about listening in, but you both seemed so disturbed for no reason except Ryan shifted. At least now I know why. It was horrible what you went through."

"S'okay," I said after she finished. "It's only old memories that should've been buried a long time ago. They'll leave again soon enough."

When Hermione reached out to wrap her arms around me I let her, falling helplessly into her embrace. Spike, though I'd told him what he wanted to hear, still didn't look assuaged. After a minute his voice pierced through the air again. "That's not bloody it Adrian. You need to tell her the rest. All of it Damnit, she loves you."

"There's no more!" I lied, feeling my face shift in anger.

"The nightmares," Spike said calmly. "The ones almost as bad as Harry's. On a conscious level, yeah the memories were gone, but when you sleep the darkness, it clouds you. And you hear your sister's voice don't you? She calls you James. Sometimes it's her and Dru, but the difference is Dru was evil but Pru thought she was doing good. You try telling them that. Doesn't matter though, both chits are doin' the same bloody thing."

"Haven't had those in a awhile. Three months." It was the truth, and Spike knew it. "How do you even know?"

"Had bad ones, I did, after I got my soul. People talkin' to me, tellin' me I meant to be evil. Dru tells you that, doesn't she?" When I nodded in agreement Hermione gave a small muffled sob into my chest. I just stood still waiting for Spike to go on reiterating nightmares I'd once had, but he didn't. He gave a half smile and lifted Ryan with his stained shirt out of the highchair and headed to the door. "The nightmares may start again, but I don't think so. When we came back from being tortured by Dru, you had nightmares, but in the hospital 'Minoe'd sleep with you. It helped…stopped them. It'll work again." With that he left, assumedly back to the study with Buffy and Xander. I knew he wouldn't tell, but still, I worried. I hated that he knew everything, but with out a memory charm nothing could be done, and I wouldn't even try placing a memory charm on Spike

Hermione lifted her head from my chest. Her face was tear stained, and her eyes red, and when she spoke her voice light, but choked with emotion. "You saw Ryan and thought someone would try and do that to him. Lock him away somewhere every time he shifted, right? You have to remember who we keep company with; two werewolves, two vampires, a Wiccan, a true seer, an escaped -though innocent- convict. Within our friends in this time period there're a dozen half vampire and half werewolf children running around. No one's going to punish any of our kids for being something different."

"I know," I sighed. "But that's the thing, I wasn't punished. Pru was five when it started and she thought she was doing the right thing. That's what I'm afraid of."

"I swear I'll personally interview every nanny we ever hire; not that we're going to need one. Out of all of us someone always has to free to watch kids" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "And besides, we're in the future! We're not even supposed to be here yet. I'm sure come the time when we get married, that's a subtle hint Adrian, and decide to have kids we'll think everything through."

Hermione got a laugh out of me with her last comment. She took advantage of that, and slowly walked with me out of the kitchen. 

*~*  
  


  _Dear Oz,_

_           Did you hear? Professor Dumbledore thinks he might have a way to bring them back! I hope so, this whole thing has been very depressing, and Ginny Weasley's been complaining that I've been too sad lately. Maybe the constant playing of Together Again wasn't such a good idea._

_Do you know when you can come out of Hospital Wing? Madam Morela keeps telling me 'he'll come out, when he comes out.' I had second-degree burns and I was outa there faster than you. Ok, maybe your injuries were a tad more excessive, but still! I want to see you some where out side the white sterile-ness of the hospital wing, somewhere where we can kiss and talk about chocolate hamburgers without people looking at us weirdly._

_              Love you much,_

_                                 Candra J._

_P.S- I still think chocolate pasta would taste better _

_Dear Leandra,_

_                  Definite progress has been made, and with Severus' help, grudging though it was, we've developed a way to pull people out from the plains the vortex transported them too. We'll be able to get one out each day before the vortex tires and closes. Eleven People went through, meaning that it will take the same number of days to get them out. I have talked to Willow and Cordelia, and they both agree with me that it would probably be best to retrieve the children first, Pettigrew, and then the adults. I believe everything will be safer that way, do you agree? Adhara has agreed to close the portal permanently once all are safely back, and I truly hope she sticks to that bargain._

_              Sincerely,_

_                           Albus Dumbledore_

*~*

Truth be told, I'd never even journeyed out of Europe before meeting Adrian and Piper. The thought had certainly crossed my mind more than once, but vacations always ended up in France, Switzerland, or something of the like. They're all beautiful places, and unique in their own way, but it was still Europe all the same. But within the last year I've been to Los Angeles, Floo stops in Orlando, Chicago, and Huston, and now I was walking for my first time in New York City. It wasn't 1996 New York, but I was grateful to see it anyway. I felt tense with worry though, and that took away from some of the excitement. Maybe I'd ask Adrian to bring me back one day. 

The first thing I noticed was the rather convenient thick cloud covering over the entire city. I didn't attribute this to any sinister happenings, just natural causes or the Willow of this time being really nice. It was so cloudy that Spike was able to walk out with out becoming a thin crisp. I didn't fancy him much, but unlike Xander I didn't take pleasure in seeing him in pain. He cared about my friends and I, and that was enough for me.

"Honestly Xander, you're not all here today!" Anya said from behind Adrian and I as their daughter ran across the streets of New York into Central Park. 

"That's not even the half of it." Xander muttered. He hurried to catch up with the sprite like girl. Adrian gripped Chloe's hand tighter as we watched him almost become Xander-pancake. Spike decided that Xander almost getting hit by a car was funny and laughed, earning an elbow in the ribs from Buffy. 

My eyes darted around from place to place; I'd never seen anything like New York. "You ok?" Adrian asked me, when I started staring at the Chrysler Building. It was just so huge. 

"Never been here." I whispered sheepishly. "Ever. I wanted to though. When I was little I thought it would be the coolest thing to skate on the Rockefeller Plaza Rink."

"It's never that exciting to me anymore." Adrian admitted as we walked though the park, discretely following Anya. She seemed to know where she was going. "We grew up in South Orange New Jersey. That's twenty-five minutes away on a good traffic day. We always had field trips here and stuff, it sorta lost it's magic after awhile. But I'd always wanted to go to the west coast, so I see where you're coming from."

"Of course I'd hoped to go in real life, or real time…whatever. But I'll take- oh no!" I was barely able to take a breath before what seemed like hundreds of children attacked us. In reality it was only twenty, give or take a few, but to me it was like a mob. All at once their voices, happy though they were, pierced through the air. Luckily they noticed the others as well and scattered out.

"Nieces, Nephews, and cousins I presume." Adrian muttered in my ear. At the same time he managed to bend down and hug one little boy who's blond hair and gray eyes reminded me of Draco. "Hello…Remy." He said to the boy. In response Remy grinned and nodded, dragging Adrian off.

After greeting who I thought were Fred and Gunn's children, I walked leisurely with Buffy. She'd left Xander and Spike to their own devices and didn't seemed yet inclined to go over to the others our age. I wasn't either, I decided as I shifted Ryan's weight in my arms. I wouldn't be until I knew for sure what time they were from

"What's the matter?" The older woman asked. we stopped under a large willow, and sat down on the shaded grass. I knew my emotions had escaped to my face. "If it's our slight predicament, trust me, we've been in worse situations than this."

"It's not being here." I said. "In fact, here is nice, well home is nicer, but here is my dream. It's what I want. Adrian, kids, a good life. No, my problem rest souly in Adrian."

Buffy looked up, suddenly perceptive. "I noticed something after he left the study yesterday. He got darker."

"What?"

"Well my slayer sense sort of went off. I can always sense Adrian, he's got…power, pure vampiric power, he really doesn't know how much. He keeps it latent, I've always felt it in small doses, but yesterday it was like he opened the dams. He was really upset wasn't he? I could feel it, probably half the vamps in LA could."

"He was upset, and I'd tell you why if I could, but he doesn't want anyone to know. He didn't want me to know." I thought about what she'd said. "T-That power Adrian has, is it bad for him?"

"Let me put it this way Hermione, he could be the next Apocalyptic Big Bad if he wanted to, but he doesn't. That's what's important. Humanity has him, and even if it didn't, Spike proved to me that a soul isn't necessary to fall in love with someone." Buffy gave me a small smile. "And I do know what's bothering Adrian. Dumbledore didn't only tell Spike and Willow. Sirius, Angel, and I know as well. It was a precaution, just incase."

"Incase the nightmares came?" I said softly. "He had them last night, just like Spike said. He talked to Pru and Drusilla, about stars and flower petals. Then in the morning he didn't want to talk about it."

Buffy sighed. "The never want to. It's all, put on a show of male poweress. No matter if they're crying inside. Even the best of them are like that." 

"I've noticed. I've been with Harry and Ron for the past six years remember? Ron could probably beat Angel in brooding sometimes."

"No, Angel will always be number one in brooding. He's had two hundred years to hone the skill, and believe me, it's perfect." She shook her head with a laugh. "Y'know, I haven't done this in a while?"

"Done what?" I asked.

"Girl talk." Buffy shrugged. "Not even with Willow, we used to have some good ones back in high school.  On patrol sitting in graveyards and stuff. I think the best one was when she told me 'love makes you do the wacky'. Sometimes I miss high school...err, in a metaphorical sense."

I nodded. "Bad experiences?"

"There was a demon ascension on graduation day, the principal had it in for me, most kids thought I was a total spaz, and I had to do homework, and slay. But it was the first place I had real friends, Xander, Willow, and even Cordy." Buffy reached over to take Ryan from my arms, giving them a break. "We were talking about you though."

"No! That's ok!" Talking about myself and Adrian could only lead to drama, and besides, there was a lot I wanted to know about Sunnydale. Especially one thing…"How did you and Spike meet?"

Buffy gave me a full smile, and her eyes completely lit up. "He drove into Sunnydale with his ho-biscuit Drusilla, who as you know, was completely insane…" It was a _long_ history of love, hate, and sex. Buffy told me everything that ever had to do with her and Spike, and had me crying at the parts with Glory, but laughing at the point where her mother had threatened Spike with an axe. Then there was Harmony- I hadn't known that he could sink that low. From Buffy's description she'd hopped straight out the muggle movie Clueless. Of course lower than Harmony was the Buffy-bot, but I promised myself I would just push that one out of my mind.

"…Then Willow came through my fireplace and told me that Spike and his nephew and niece were in trouble. Honestly, I didn't even register it all at first. I was trying to figure out the whole 'Willow just stepped out of my fireplace and she's supposed to be in England' thing. Finally she got it through to me that Spike was with the ho-biscuit, and he needed my help. I'd been missing him so much, so I didn't even think about it. I left a note to Dawn and went through the fireplace with Willow, never mind I was eight months pregnant. I had to save him. I didn't realize how much he meant to me until I couldn't have him anymore, and I hate that." She looked skyward, and heaved a long sigh. "Don't let anything break you and Adrian apart Hermione. Even if he does somehow loose his soul , keep loving him. The soul doesn't mean anything, sure it might change him a little, but inside he's still Adrian. Remember that alright?"  

"The soul doesn't matter." I repeated sincerely. "I know that, and no matter what I'll always love him. " 

Those words seemed to have some kind of magic in them. Ten feet away from us the familiar blue vortex appeared; the opening slowly expanding. Buffy and I stood slowly. I took Ryan out of her arms and she crouched in a low fighting position.

Something gray and mist like shot out of the portal engulfing my senses, and then everything was black.

*~*


	4. Chapter Four

E-mail: Spikesluv666@netscape.net 

Title: Twins of Peace Book Three: Time Hopping (working title)

Spoilers: all four HP books, Buffy up to the end of season six, and my two fanfics Twins of Peace books one and two

Category: General, Supernatural, Action/Adventure, and Romance

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Jesus people, if I owned this do you think I'd be bootlegging CD's 'cause I'm too cheep to pay the fifteen bucks?

Summary- Chapter Four: Hermione's just been knocked unconscious and the portal's been reopened. Where will she find herself? Obviously still in 'Mione's view. I have no idea why I decided to use her to narrate, oh well, it helped the writers block. __

Authors Note: Did you hear the good news? JK Rowling says the fifth book will be ready to be sent to her publisher within a few weeks! ::screams:: Finally!! And Anne Rice has a new book out! Now all I need is a new Anita Blake book and life could be somewhere near perfect! This note is being written before the chapter, and right now I think this chapters going to be short…but don't quote me on that! Oh well, please R/R

Chapter Four: Trails and Tribulations

"Hermione?"

I think it was the tenth time someone had called my name, and it was getting quite vexatious. I didn't want to be pulled out of my sleep. It was comfortable, the bed was soft, the blankets were warm, and someone was asleep next to be. I could tell it was Adrian. 

"Hermione wake up. I know you're conscious at least, your breathing just changed."

"Spike's right Hermione, up!" I became excited when I heard that. Madam Morela's (or Leandra, I remembered what Adrian had told us. I shrugged it off for the moment, deciding to thing about it later) voice was always easily recognizable. It held many dialects that were coated with a proper sounding voice. Hearing Morela's voice meant we were home. As quickly as my stiff body would allow I opened my eyes and turned around in the bed.

"Spike, are we…" I was about to ask if we were back at Hogwarts, but when my eyes swept through the familiar looking infirmary I knew the answer to that question. I looked at Adrian and smiled contently. We'd gotten home.

"Back at Hogwarts Mite." Spike said. He put a hand on my shoulder when I tried to get out of the bed to look around. I had to know that it was real. William squirmed in his other arm. "Not yet. Sorry."

When I looked at Morela hoping for support she just shook her head. "He's right. You'll have to stay in until I'm able to get some medicine into your system, make sure you didn't pick up anything nasty on your trip."

"I wasn't anywhere to—"

"New York subways Hermione. You forget, I was there." Spike grimaced at the memory. "And besides she means magical nasties, from the bloody portal."

I felt fine, but I didn't say that. It wouldn't have made a difference. "Where're the others?"

My inquiry was met with a bleak stare, as tension overflowed the room. One didn't have to be clairvoyant to notice; even I, proclaimer that all divination is cracked, felt choked and smothered. Spike and Morela looked at each other and down at Adrian who slept on.

"They're in Diagon Alley." Morela said quite casually. She turned to the nightstand and poured a potion from a vial into a goblet, and handed it to me. "Drink that please."

"All of them? Why are they all there?" 

She looked flustered. "well…that is, th-they had… I'm not supposed to stress you. I'll be right back, Spike watch her please."

I turned to glare at Spike, who's face was passive and unemotional. I noticed he still wore the gold chain around his neck. "Spike, please?"

"You've been out for awhile, four days since you all got back. Sirius was in Azkaban for two of them, the third the prosecution presented their case, and today the defense presents theirs." He explained. "Things are looking pretty good all things goin'. I'm thinkin' he'll get off."

I gulped, and tried again to jump out of the bed. Spike pushed me back down again and forced the potion from the vial down my throat all in one swift motion. "Stay in bed Hermione. Leandra'll do what ever, and then we can go."

"What about Adrian, why isn't he there? He should be!"

"Same reason I'm not. We're watching over our girls. Buffy just woke up about an hour ago."

"You two were very close to the portal when it opened, so our spell hit you the hardest. Everyone else was just slightly petrified." Madam Morela stepped back into the room with her wand and her composure. She'd also changed from white nurse robes to baby blue ones. Her hair was now black, and her eyes blue. She looked like Leandra Wren Black now, not Madam Morela.

"Good luck. Don't be nervous." Spike addressed her seriously. "You'll do fine."

"Thank you Uncle William." She said, a slight teasing tone in her voice. "Hermione, take those two potions, the green and red, and wait an hour…in the bed I might add. Then you, Buffy and Adrian can come. Alright? They should be reading the verdicts a whiles after you arrive. Pray for the best won't you?"

"Are you going to give testimony?" I asked

"Naturally. I want that rat put away for everything he did, and that includes murdering Livia." She said with vehemence, and left the curtained area.  

I shrank back into the bed, suddenly feeling quite small in the face of the woman's anger and also nervous about the outcome of the trial. 'Important things always happened while people are unconscious or confined to bed' I thought, remembering how Ron had been unconscious while Harry and I had rescued Sirius in our third year. 'I could've given testimony, done something!'  I sighed as Spike handed me the greenish potion and watched as I downed it. It tasted horrible, but some of the cotton in my head started to clear up immediately. Madam Pomfrey used to say, 'the worse it tasted the more useful it was', and here it held true. 

"Y'know," Spike finally mumbled after a few minutes of silence. "It's amazing how I always end up sitting with you Bits while you're hurt, but I've never done it this quietly. C'mon Hermione, what do you want t' talk about? We're gonna be here for the next hour."

"Er…" I stuttered, taken aback by his forwardness. We'd never actually _talked_ before, as in had a conversation where insults weren't flowing beneath the surface. "How did we get back?"

"We didn't all come back at once, they just got us all into the portal at the same time and sealed off all of the exits into the future and past. Then they extracted us one by one, Pettigrew first, and the Whelp last. Red, Cordy, and Dumbledore did it." Spike said. "The Time Turner that started this mess was something Adhara had been toying with. She's yet to explain exactly why she put it into the hands of a sixteen year old boy, but that's Adhara for you. That chit has major issues."

I laughed slightly. "Spike she's a goddess, I think she's allowed as many problems as she wants. Not that I condone it, but I assume it comes with the territory. And why hasn't she taken the Strand back from you?"

"Don' know," He said with a shrug. "And personally, I'll be glad if she doesn't. I haven't used the shape changing power, and I don't want to, but for the first time in one hundred and twenty six years I can see my reflection."

"That must be nice." I said with rare sympathy for Spike. "I'd want to keep it too. Not being able to see myself, I can't imagine it…n-not that I'm vain in that manner, but-"

Spike smiled at my stuttering and flushing cheeks. "You're not that type, thank God."

"May I hold William please?" As the burning in my cheeks resided I held out my arms to the squirming baby. Here was someone else I'd missed, along with his twin. "How's Buffy?"

"Awake, very active. She wants out, don't blame her m'self. She has Damon right now, but he won't keep her contained for long. I'll have to go back and forcibly keep her in the bed." 

When he grinned wickedly at the end of his comment I made a disgusted face. "That was unneeded and unwanted information."

"Oh c'mon, It's not like none of you have never walked in on us."

"Spike!"

"The look on your face is bloody hilarious. You looked like the Whelp after he walked in on us once." As he went on my thoughts turned to stakes and dust busters. Spike looked at my scowl and sobered a bit. "Sorry Ducks. Listen I'm gonna go make sure Buffy's doin' alright. Ginny Weasley brought you some clothes, they're under the bed. Get dressed and wake up my nephew there. When I come back we can go over to the court house.

I gave a heavy sigh. "You don't _have_ to leave. It's just…you're incorrigible at times."

"So I've been told…yeah 'Mione, I know what incorrigible means." He said when I became slightly surprised. Ok, small note to self, though one might think it upon first glance, Spike is not stupid. I actually had known that he wasn't stupid, but for reasons I could not place I kept thinking of him as less than he really was. Something told me that that really needed to stop.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out, when he bent to take William from my arms.

"For what?"

"Thinking... never mind. I'll be ready soon."

Spike just laughed as he walked out of the curtained cubicle. 

*~*

I felt small amount of guilt as I walked back into the court room, but not anything too overbearing. I'd only been away for one day after all, and dad had told me himself that I should go back to Hogwarts. So I'd gone, sat next Hermione all night, and felt Spike's eyes watching me with worry. Buffy also eyed me wearily, I saw it beneath her smile, but Buffy seemed to be eyeing everything with apprehension. It had a lot to do with were the portal had transported her first, that much was obvious. But when I listened in on her and Angel talking I heard that she was also worried about the outcome of the trial. Of course we all were. I could've sworn Piper and Harry had developed some sort of nervous twitch within the past four days. 

Not to sound conceited, but I knew that I was having the worst of it all among us kids. Piling the stress of the trial, on top of the reoccurring nightmares makes for one very stressed Adrian. Dumbledore didn't want us attending classes until the verdict was in and Leandra had given us a clean bill of health. I, eager to avoid fellow students, spent all of time when I wasn't in the courtroom in the Forbidden Forest as a wolf. At nights I was with Hermione who, until two hours ago, was still sleeping off the effects of the spell used to bring us back through the portal. I was tired and bruised, Leandra discovered the latter the second day we were back. That was day she'd let me out of the wing. I went directly out to the forest and ran until my paws and flank were bloody. When I came back Leandra yelled at me for awhile then healed my huts and sent me to bed. Thus has been the cycle for the past four days. If anyone else other than Leandra found out that I was running myself stupid every night, I'd be dead. Luckily, Leandra was an adequate secret keeper.

My feet and hands were in pain as I walked into the courtroom, ignoring pawing reporters, and gripping Hermione fiercely. Before falling asleep with her, I'd been running. Leandra hadn't known; I'd tell her later. I felt Buffy's fingers on the small of my back guiding us to the wooden benches. Somehow I had stopped moving. Funny, I didn't notice. Hermione squeezed my hand as we sat down. Her sign of comfort. It helped, but not much. Especially when I saw my father. Dementors can work quickly. Even when they have only two days. 

"You're bleeding." Hermione held my hand gently after she noticed that I winced after she'd squeezed it.

"It's nothing. I'll have Leandra look at it when we get back." I lied on both counts. The cuts on my ahnds were no where near nothing, and I wasn't going back to Leandra because I'd promised her that there would be no more midnight death runs. Though as Spike said it's almost impossible to hide anything from our girlfriends, and when we stood as the judge entered the room I staggered. Hermione shot me a suspicious glance. She'd find out.

After we'd stood up and sat back down for the Honorable Judge Moore, Peter Pettigrew was led into the room by three aurors and one unspeakable who walked behind. He was, like dad, chained from head to foot. He looked clean, but his faced showed the effects of the dementors. Peter hadn't had the choice of escape from the dementiors clutches. The ministry had  cast a spell on him inhibiting his animagus powers, so he'd taken the full brunt of Azkaban. There was a cheery thought. 

"We rejoin from recess to hear the verdict for case number four fifty three, The Retrial of Sirius Black, and case four fifty four, Peter Pettigrew vs. the state. Jury, if you will."

Hermione didn't grab my hand this time, but a fistful of her own robes, and her pulse, along with every other persons in our row, rocketed. I stroked her hair with the hand that wasn't bleeding profusely. Down the row Harry nervously swung his legs back and forth as Dawn just looked ahead expectantly (yes, she was here as well. I believe her absentee card for school had been marked 'death in the family'). Piper had her 'brave little solider' face on, but I knew her well. If anything went wrong she'd brake down right there on Draco's shoulder.

A nondescript woman from the jury stood. She held a peace of yellowed parchment in her hand decided our future. "Based on the evidence heard at this trial, we the jury have come to these decisions. Sirius Black is cleared of all charges placed before him now and in 1981, except for the fact that he is an illegal animagus. All possessions possessed by the ministry at the time of his previous arrest are to be returned to him immediately, and he has a full ministry pardon."

I think that the only way to describe exactly what happened next would be the word pandemonium. Piper's scream was the loudest; she always has to be heard. I didn't immediately say anything, but I grabbed Hermione into a fierce hug. We stayed that way for quite awhile even after I regained use of my vocal chords. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Leandra and Remus making out like teenagers, Harry was jumping up and down with Dawn. Candra gave Piper, Harry, and I a genuine smile before turning back to Oz. I'm not even going to describe what they were doing, a, because it's just wrong, and b, because I figure we all deserved to celebrate. When we tried to leave the row, we were stopped. It was then that we realized the jury wasn't quite finished. 

Judge Moore banged her mallet until everything was pin-drop quiet. Then the jury continued.

"Pertaining to Peter Pettigrew, we find him guilty of fourteen counts of murder, the thirteen Muggles in 1981 and Livia Black in 1980. We also find him guilty of undergoing illegal animagus transfiguration, and conspiring with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. His lawyer would like to motion and appeal to the last charge. The suggested sentence is life in Azkaban with all animagus powers introverted."

"Motion denied, sentence passed." The judge said with little effort.


	5. Chapter Five

E-mail: Spikesluv666@netscape.net 

Title: Twins of Peace Book Three: Time Hopping (working title)

Spoilers: all four HP books, Buffy up to the end of season six, and my two fanfics Twins of Peace books one and two

Category: General, Supernatural, Action/Adventure, and Romance

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Jesus people, if I owned this do you think I'd be bootlegging CD's 'cause I'm too cheep to pay the fifteen bucks?

Summary- Chapter Five: Well after a long time we're back to Piper. She was threatening me with painful curses if we didn't get back to her soon, but it does have a lot to do with Adrian as well 'cause I'm really into sadness right now and with this whole back plot I've created for him he's a perfect victim for it. 

Authors Note: Just finished the new Anne Rice novel, God, I don't think I've cried that much over a book in a LONG time. Erm, so, seen the movie? C'mon people you know what, movie I'm talking about. Harry Potter! Go see it! And then when you're done, go see 8 Mile; that was excellent. And this week go see Treasure Planet, then see Star Trek Nemesis, then Lord of the Rings, then Daredevil! Go people, be my mindless drones! Make these movies some money! Ok, I'm finished with my unpaid solicitation, now onto the important stuff…READ THIS PART!!!! I've decided that this is the last chapter of this part, why? Well realized…hey, this really doesn't stand on it's own as a story. It's more of chapters twelve through sixteen of book two, so really what I'm saying is, this is the end of book two, not book three. But don't worry, there is more coming and everyone will be e-mailed when it comes out, everyone, even if you only reviewed once! As for the plot…heh heh, that's a secret let's just say the beginning involves a nursery and the whole thing involves Charmed. 

Chapter Five: Decisions

Hermione and I walked out of the Hospital Wing from our daily lesson with a slight argument brewing between us. Leandra had casually mentioned that it might be good if we subtly tried to stop my brother from killing himself. Because according to her that's what was going to happen on his continued midnight excursions to the Forbidden Forest. She said he was either going to hurt him self intentionally, accidentally, or something else was going to do it for him. Something like the chimera that Hagrid said he'd spotted in the forest. Since I didn't think Adrian was suicidal in the least and seeing as chimeras are classified as known wizard killers, and are attracted to Greek wizards I was becoming a little more than worried.

We'd come back from our time travel adventures one month and five days ago. It was now well into March. Dad was free, and after the trial I was in that euphoric state that I've noticed comes after a particularly stressing event. I thought that everything was fine, and nothing proved otherwise. Pettigrew was having the play date from hell with dementors, Voldemort was keeping things on the down low, and every class except for potions was going well. Relationships were fine too. Candra and Oz were still gagingly affectionate, Harry and Dawn were still shy, Hermione and Adrian were still the most normal couple of us all, and Draco and I were still trying to not have sex (though I had found out Spike had lied to me about the legal age in England, but that didn't really tone down the threat). As Hermione had pointed out a moment before, we were all very caught up in our own happiness and hadn't noticed that Adrian was getting out of hand.

I was still being kept out of something. Hermione, Leandra, and every other adult and Scoobie knew something about _my twin brother_ that I didn't, and it was damned near to really pissing me off. Not to sound conceited, but I am his twin. We're supposed to tell each other things. At least that's how it had been in the past. But not now, and I couldn't help but resent Hermione just the tiniest bit for it. Sure I knew he was running himself sick in the forest, but why. I figured something had happened at Adrian's second stop through the portal. I wished I could've been there. Instead I was with Draco in China during the Boxer Rebellion seeing the gruesome sight of Spike murdering a slayer.

The argument about to come between Hermione and I was completely my fault, a result of all the things I was feeling. I could've left well enough alone, but no, of course not. I wanted know, and I wanted to know as soon as possible. I'd have bothered Leandra except for the fact that she was doing something with Remus at the moment, and walking in on Buffy and Spike was bad enough.

"…And I don't think that it's my place to tell you. Why don't you just talk to him?" Hermione was saying. "He's your brother, he'll listen to you."

"Yeah he _listens_ to me, but it's only in the most literal sense." I countered. "He listens, but that doesn't mean he takes my advice. Just tell me what the problem is."

"No! Why must you act like some petulant five year old?"

"Why do you have to use words like _petulant_?" Oh hell, where had that come from? That wasn't even a good comeback. All it did was open up room for more insults.

"You don't know what petulant means?" 

Bingo. "I do too!"

I expected her to ask me to define it or something like that, but no she fired back, "do not!" Her cheeks were turning red with anger.

"Do too!"

"Do not!" 

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Miss. Granger and Miss. Black having a 'do not, do too' fight? Perish the thought. While I don't have particularly high expectations of the two of you I never dreamed you would ever be reduced to throwing 'insults' of this caliber." Snape's silky, clear voice cut though Hermione's last 'do not'. Both of us stopped with our mouths agape.

Hermione and I both looked at each other at the same time and said, "She started it!"

Professor Snape simply rolled his eyes and continued to speak with a glare. "You two will accompany me now."

"Detention for a verbal disagreement?" Hermione said, outraged. I think she'd forgotten that she wasn't addressing me anymore. 

"I said nothing about detention," God, even his voice sounded sort of like a glare. "But continue to talk to me in that tone and don't think I won't be happy to hand you one. You are coming with me to Professor Rosenberg's room. Something has happened."

"Is it Adrian?" I practically yelled.

"Yes." He replied with no emotion. "Mr. Black, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Winthrop are having a problem."

We continued behind Snape in silence for the rest of the way. It was like following a storm cloud. The only light parts of him were the pale skin of his hands and face; he wore black robes so one could only see a billowing cloud of black. At least Spike makes it look good; I wouldn't dispute with Candra there.

My fight with Hermione was placed to the side when we entered the History of Magic classroom. I was getting bad vibes from the room before we entered but they went off the scale when we entered and when I looked to the right I saw why. All the Scoobies were there and Leandra, Dad, Harry, Ron, and Remus. Hermione shrieked. 

"It's ok Hun," Buffy was immediately at her side, stroking her hair lovingly. "Remember what I told you."

Spike was tied to a chair with thick ropes, and Angel was in a chair behind him also tied. Five feet away Adrian and Draco were tied in a similar fashion. Oh yeah, they were all in game face, so that was a bit of a problem. I gulped and stepped forward, but immediately Oz's hand was on my shoulder pulling me back. He was strong and pushed me back into my dad's arms.

"No soul, no soul, no soul…" Hermione was muttering in Buffy's arms. 

"It's Voldemort, w-we put his number one into Azkaban. H-his only minion with Animagus p-power. It's r-revenge." Willow stuttered. "W-we d-did it, our goal, and now we're paying.  I flooed Giles."

"No soul?" I asked softly.

"No," Remus said. "The only one who isn't complete evil is Spike, but that's because he had a soul even when he didn't have a soul. Not literally, but mentally. He felt love and pain…Angelus never did and Adrian and Draco are going by instinct. Instinct says to feed and kill."

"Was it a spell?" Harry sounded almost disbelieving.

"Something… Oz has a tail, Remus has amber eyes… it was something that affects dark creatures, males to be specific." I looked into Remus' eyes as Cordelia spoke. The color had changed and the pupils were narrower. Oz was wearing jeans cut off at the knee. I saw the end of a brown tail sticking out of his left pants leg. 

"Giles is looking for a counter curse that's not Angel's, we are too." Buffy said from where she was still with Hermione. She looked longingly at Spike, who with the rest of the men was unconscious. "He's still Spike."

Xander shook his head. "We can't un-stun him! Remember what un-souled Spike was like?"

"Yeah," Buffy frowned at Xander and spoke angrily. "He was the exact same person, and he still loved me."

"The words 'rape' and 'love' don't go together Buffy."

"Do not start that crap with me!" She yelled. 

Willow stepped between the two of them before things started to get nasty and violent. She pointed her wand at Buffy and held her hand out to Xander. "We should wake Spike up, see if he feels different. He is tied to a chair after all, it's not a bathtub but it'll do. He hasn't had human blood to make him strong enough to break the bonds." 

"Which means we can't wake up Adrian or Angelus." Said Dad.

"Why!?" I demanded. Hermione glanced up with her tear-streaked face and looked at dad like she couldn't take anymore. I wondered what was wrong with her, I knew she loved Adrian but she was taking this very badly, like it would never be fixed. Yet another secret that I was being kept out of.

"Yes why?" asked Ron nervously. 

"There's a first year in the hospital wing suffering from massive blood loss. Leandra'll have her up in no time though." Willow answered. Averting our glances she pulled her want and pointed it at Spike. "_Eneverate."_

Spike came around quickly, sighing as he moved his neck. Buffy shook Xander's hand off her shoulder and walked across the room to him. She was talking to him, and I didn't try to hear. I didn't want to yet. Instead I turned to dad and Remus, who upon seeing the look on my face started to look slightly guilty.

"What is the matter with my brother?" I asked in my best 'Snape' voice.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "He's been cursed soulless."

"Not that!" I exclaimed flailing my arms. "The other thing! Whatever has Hermione breaking down."

"Could be that time of… Ow!" Dad stopped when Remus elbowed him sharply in the gut. "Hermione found out some things about Adrian the other day. Neither of them are over it yet, Adrian's been having the hardest time."

"And these 'things' would be?" I prompted irritably

"Past experiences."

Oz had been listening to the whole thing and gave a small growl in the back of his throat. "Piper, your sister Pru constantly shoved him under her bed for shifting into game face when he was younger." Oh. "He's been sleeping in bed with Hermione, and it helps the nightmares, but because he's physic he ends up sent fragments of things to Hermione, like now. She's probably seeing a lot of what he's thinking, and that can't be good."

As is the norm with me most of the important stuff didn't register at first, because first I thought 'damn, that's the longest think I've ever heard him say. Practically a speech.' Then I realized that I'd just been told what I'd wanted to know for the past weeks. I didn't like what I'd heard.

"I'll be back." I felt my features shift as I spoke. Quickly I turned out of the room.

"Oz…" I heard dad say.

"I'll get her." He said.

"The full moon's tonight," Remus said cautiously. 

Oz's footsteps followed me into the hall.

*~*

I hadn't been back to South Orange, New Jersey since starting Hogwarts. There'd been no point. What was I going to do? Visit the old café, see Hayden's closed shop, visit my crappy High School? I don't think so; I have better things to do with my life. Of course now there was a point. See I was really pissed off. Because my former sister Pru had decided to put my brother under her bed when they were younger both he and Hermione were suffering. That didn't sit very well with me.

Traveling across the Atlantic by Floo Powder takes about two hours so when I landed in the fire place of my old house it was around four o' clock in the afternoon. I came out through the fireplace in the living room, which connected to the kitchen. I expected that there'd be someone in the kitchen that I'd have to deal with, but thankful there wasn't. In fact it didn't seem anyone was home. They were probably all at Apropos.

Oz came out of the fireplace next as I was hunkering down in a chair by the front door. I couldn't say I was surprised. He was here to talk me down. It wasn't going to work. He sat down across from me on the stairs the lead to the third floor. 

"So how long 'till Pru gets here?" Oz asked, staring straight into my golden eyes. He seemed calm and relaxed, not scared at all.

"She leaves during the dinner rush; I'd say around seven." I said evenly.

Oz nodded it that strangely calm way of his. It was something I'd always wondered about him. How was he always so calm and quiet? He was always just there. "Well if you need any help I should be all grr and furry by then."

"Funny."

"No I'm serious, Adrian means a lot to me, you all do, and so I'm willing to help you hurt what hurt him."

I looked at him quizzically. "Dad and Remus didn't send you here to help me murder anyone, they sent you here to talk me out of it. You're not dong a very good job."

He shrugged. "I'm no negotiator."

"But…"

"Listen, I'm going to help whether you want it or not." Oz leaned back on the stairs giving me a small smile. 

"You're up to something, I don't know what it is, but I'm not falling for it. Oz I know what kind of person you are, and you're not a killer." I shook my head and frowned. "You're not."

"That doesn't seem to be stopping you." He countered.

"I am a killer though," I said with force, convincing myself at the same time. "I got it from my mother and from Spike. I'm a vampire; it's what we're supposed to do. I-I've just never had the need to do it before."

Oz nodded. "Ok. If that's your excuse for being a killer then I have the same one. I'm a killer also. I got it the day I tickled my brother and he decided to bite me. I'm a werewolf, and we're supposed to kill and make werewolves."

"No!" I protested. "Remus would never-"

"Spike would never either." He cut me off. "And you wouldn't either, because it's not in you."

Though they weren't supposed to, in my mood his last words sounded like a challenge, one that felt ready to take. "I could take you right now!" I yelled, standing.

"Maybe," Oz shrugged once more and reached down to the banister pulling off one of the decorative wooden rods. It was about a foot long and the splintery tip made it look like a pretty good stake. He tossed the stake up once, and then looked at it thoughtfully. "But in the end I'd win. I'm willing to kill you; you're not ready to kill me. See, I'm a full dark creature; you're only a fourth. Sure your vampiric blood is dominant, but I'd get you anyway." His eyes flashed the amber brown of his wolf form and I started to actually think about what I was about to do. I was about to attack Oz. Oz was my friend, did I really want to do this? 

"Listen," He continued. "I learned a few things while I was away from Sunnydale. I could shift now, we could go down to the café and kill Pru. Is that what you want…no, better yet, is that what Adrian wants?" Oz dropped his makeshift stake to the floor and crossed his arms. 

"God, will you stop with the psycho-babble!" I said.       

"It's not psycho-babble, they're just choices." Oz said seriously. "You can kill Pru now and delve into life of darkness. You'll end up like the guys are right now back at the castle. You could let your magic side win out, and maybe kill her that way, but judging from the look on your face you want to taste blood, don't you? Or you could be Piper, you could be yourself. You could go home and cry in your father's arms, then maybe spar with Buffy to get your anger out. Which one?"

"I want…" I trailed off, and my face shifted once again. I'd wanted to say kill, but the woman who suddenly stood behind Oz was stopping me. She was glowing like an angel and slowly walking down the stairs. Oz turned around to greet her almost knowingly. The woman smiled and put a hand on his shoulder; her long brown hair fell tickling the back of his neck.  

"What do you want Piper?" She repeated Oz's question. "To kill with magic or malice, or to leave this place and return to Hogwarts and your family." Her voice was soft and gentle but it filled the room completely. 

"Who are you?" I asked. My voice was clear again, no longer slurred by the presence of fangs.

Her smiled brightened. "My name's Tara."

"Oh…OH!" I yelled almost jumping. "You…you're dead!"

"Yes, but this isn't about my demise. It's about you. What are you going to do Piper?"

"What would you do?"

"Learn to forgive."

"She's right you know." Oz said. "We all have to at some point. Unlike Anya might tell you we can't just extract revenge on everyone who pisses us off. The whole world would be in chaos if we did."

"So I'm supposed to forgive Pru for traumatizing my brother, just like that? " I snapped my fingers. "It's not going to happen."

Tara sighed. "I've forgiven Warren, my parents, most of the people that have wronged me. It's hard, but it comes eventually. If you kill your sister now then you'll never have the time to forgive her, and you remember this isn't about you. The fact that you'd kill for your brother, it shows loyalty and love, but you have to let him heal himself. For Adrian the process has already started, and goes on even now as he's trapped soulless, but what you do hear tonight could change everything."

"Can you show me what will happen?"

"I wish I could, but it's forbidden. You have the free will to make your own decisions. Up above, we can only hope that you make the right ones." She explained. "I _can_ tell you this, Pru is walking up to the back door now. She came home early today because she has an essay due tomorrow that still needs work."

I looked frantically at Oz. "D-Did you bring Floo powder?"

"O' course ducks."

I turned and ran to the fireplace, using my want to start a quick fire. "Good, we need to…what did you just call me?"

"Ducks, when has Oz ever said that much?" Where Oz had stood before Spike was now casually leaning against the banister. He reached around his neck and quickly unclasped the gold chain that hung there. 

Spike handed the chain to Tara who held it carefully. "Because of your decision Piper, Angel, Adrian, and Draco have been saved."

"But Spike…"

"Spike was never cursed," Tara said smiling once more. "My mistress claimed that she worked to hard to get that thing in him, and she wasn't about to take it out. He was only tied up with the others because Xander and Willow reacted a little too rashly. He came disguised as Oz, for reasons that you need not know, just know that you have made the best decision." She glanced around. "My time's up, so I have to go. Please tell Willow…and everyone else I love and I miss them."

I looked at her glowing figure once more before it shimmered into nothingness. "I will. Thanks Tara."

I heard the key in the backdoor turning as Spike and I disappeared from New Jersey.


End file.
